Kaspersky Releases Multi-Device Security, Plans iPad & iPhone Support

Kaspersky on Tuesday announced worldwide availability of a new multi-device security product for PCs, Macs and Android devices, while also revealing plans to roll in an upcoming “safe browser” for iOS devices by the end of this year.

Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) Multi-Device, the vendor’s first cross-device offering, bundles together Kaspersky’s Internet security products for Windows, Macintosh and Android in a single package, said Elliot Zatsky, senior director of consumer partner services, Kaspersky Lab, in a briefing for TabletPCReview.

Smooth Installation on Tablets and Phones

The new KIS for Android Devices, a component of the bundle which is also sold separately, replaces two previous products in Kaspersky’s lineup. One of the earlier products was aimed at smartphones, and the other at tablets.

The new security software, on the other hand, can be installed on either type of Android device. “It’s the same executable,” Zatsky noted. It’s able to automatically detect whether a device is a tablet or a phone, and to install the appropriate features for the device, he said.

Features that install on both devices include realtime malware protection; Web browsing protection, to safeguard users from landing on phishing and other malicious Web sites; and antitheft features.

Thanks to the antitheft features, customers can locate missing devices, remotely lock devices, wipe data, turn on the alarm feature, and activate the device’s camera to take a mugshot of whoever is currently using it, he said.

When installed on a phone, the software adds a “SIM lock” antitheft feature, for keeping wrongdoers from replacing the SIM card, along with call and text message filtering for blocking spam and unwanted phone calls.

Next: iOS ‘Safe Browser’

Kaspersky has also changed the look and feel of the Android software to make it resemble KIS for Windows as closely as possible, according to Zatsky.

The forthcoming “safe browser” for iOS devices will provide the same sorts of Web browsing protections as those now available on the Android side.

“We want to educate users that you do need protection for [Apple devices],” he told TabletPCReview. “It is the same Internet.”